Chapter 8
Ozpin and Glynda waited by the airships as the partners arrived.
"Running a little late, Mr. Meerin?" asked Goodwitch with clear irritation.
Alear rubbed the back of his neck. "Heh, yeah well, you know me." Goodwitch didn't look amused as she pushed her glasses up on her face.
The blonde teacher stepped in front of the two. "Well let's get down to business. Hold still while I cast the glyph. It could be dangerous otherwise." She started moving her arms in a rhythmic pattern. "You may be blinded temporarily." With that she cast the glyph. A purple burst of aura hit the two students in the eyes. Nix fell to her knees from the impact while Alear staggered backwards with a grunt. "Blink a few times and it should get rid of the blindness."
They complied and immediately Alear's vision cleared. Nix let out a relieved sigh a moment later.
Alear rubbed his eyes. "Something tells me that that glyph is still experimental."
Goodwitch crossed her arms. "It worked didn't it?" Her voice was stern.
"Fair enough…"
Ozpin cleared his throat. "We do have a time restriction." Everyone gave him their undivided attention. "It is roughly seven-thirty now, and with the travel time you will arrive at the objective around ten. The airship will drop you off in a nearby clearing and will await your return at the same location. It will be leaving shortly after midnight." Ozpin placed both his hands on the top of his cane. "I suggest you exercise caution. The airship will be leaving with or without you. Any stragglers will be left to fend for themselves until midnight of the next day. It's too dangerous for the airship to be near their compound for long."
The two nodded their acceptance. They had no qualms with Ozpin's terms. They were used to rules such as this. If you didn't pull your weight in the White Fang, you got left behind.
"That is all," stated the Headmaster. "Your mission starts now. Farewell, Mr. Meerin, Ms. Nix." The partners watched as Ozpin strolled back to Beacon. Goodwitch followed on his heels, parting with a nod.
Nix waited until the staff was gone and leaped excitedly in front of the airship, hands on her hips. "Alright Wolfy! Are you ready for our first official assignment?"
"Hmph, please. I'm always ready," he said with a grin that quickly faded. "Time to reunite with dear old dad.
-Later that night, aboard the airship-
"Nomant?!" exclaimed Nix. They had been flying for a while now and were quickly nearing their destination. "Your father, the overseer who raped your mother, is Geralt Nomant?!"
Alear sighed and nodded. He knew Ozpin was listening but didn't care. The Headmaster seemed to be able to find out anything he wished to know anyway, and besides, Alear had nothing to hide. "So you can see why I was angry earlier. I finally have a chance to repay that son of a bitch for all the misery he's caused. Maybe if I'm lucky, I'll even find out where he's hidden away my mother…if's she still alive."
Nix hated it when he talked like this, like he was expecting the worst. "Don't give up hope. We're sure to find something. She couldn't have just vanished."
He shrugged in response. "It's been eleven years, Nix. Anything could have happened by now. Oh and if you're listening, Ozpin, don't worry. I won't let this get in the way of our mission. I understand personal issues are secondary."
Nix cursed, remembering they were being watched. "Why do we even have to have these glyphs anyways?"
"Probably because we used to be in a terrorist organization," he said with a chuckle. "You can't blame them for being cautious."
Nix puffed out her cheeks and crossed her arms, completing her pouting look. "Still sucks…" she muttered.
Suddenly the pilot opened the door to the cockpit. "We'll be at the LZ in a few minutes. I suggest you get ready to jump."
The two stood up, holding onto the railing to balance themselves as the airship lowered itself close enough to the ground so they could jump without harm.
"Alright you're clear! Go! Go! Go!"
The partners smiled at each other before leaping from the now opened hatch of the ship. They both rolled as they landed, transferring the impact from their legs. Alear immediately scanned his surroundings.
They had been dropped in a small clearing in the center of a forest, hidden from view by the tall, lush trees. The mining complex could be seen in the distance, but just barely.
Nix adjusted the case on her back and the two pressed on, eager to reach their objective. They ran most of the way, slowing down to a crawl as they got closer.
They ended up on a tall ridge overlooking the mining facility. Alear unstrapped Storm Breaker and set up a small tripod, attaching the rifle to it. He peered through the scope, scanning the perimeter while Nix waited patiently. Alear was astounded by the amount of defenses they had placed.
"What are we dealing with?" asked the little illusionist.
Alear took a moment to respond. "Mounted turrets, likely automated. Thick stone walls, spotlights, and a whole lot of grunts too." The compound could almost be described as a small fortress. The turrets were on each corner of the walls with a guard stationed at each one, adding up to a total of four. "We're going to have to do something about those guns. They'll rip us to shreds otherwise."
"Can't you just destroy the power sources?" suggested Nix.
"Already working on it. Just…need…to…found them!" he finished excitedly. "There's a power box on the wall of each guard tower with cables running to the turrets. They're likely only powering the guns."
"Is that a problem?"
"Not exactly," he said with a sly smile. "It's actually kind of a good thing. That means we can disable the towers without drawing attention. I just have to take down the guard on each tower in rapid succession."
Nix frowned. "I feel like there's a problem you're not telling me about."
The wolf Faunus sighed. "The complex is powered by Dust, like everything else."
"So?"
Alear rolled his eyes. "So if I hit the Dust inside the power boxes then they will more than likely explode, and if it explodes then our cover will be blown sky high."
"So what are you going to do then?"
Alear smiled strangely. "Hope I don't miss?"
Nix shook her head in disbelief. "You're something else. If this goes tits-ups, don't blame me."
"Yeah, yeah," he replied while screwing a silencer to the barrel of Storm Breaker. "Once I take out the guards and turrets, get down there, avoid the spotlights, and slip inside." Nix nodded. "I'll stay here for the time being and provide over-watch. I'll join you once you enter one of the buildings."
"Which building?"
Alear shrugged. "It doesn't matter really. I'll simply watch and follow you in whichever one you choose."
Nix motioned him to continue, giving a small bow. "Whenever you're ready."
Alear took a deep breath, placing his crosshairs directly on the first watchman's head. He pulled the trigger and a bullet smashed into the grunt's head, dropping him like a pile of sandbags. He rapidly switched to the next one, shooting this guard in the heart.
The next he tried to shoot in the head as well but the grunt suddenly jerked his head and caught the bullet in the throat instead. Alear couldn't hear, but he was sure he was gurgling as the blood poured from the hole in his throat. Hopefully there wasn't anyone else in the immediate vicinity, as they would hear the guard's dying moments.
Now he focused on the last guard. This one he decided to shoot in both the head and the heart. Alear hadn't been in a real combat situation since his days with the White Fang, and the last shot had made him start to worry that his skills were beginning to dull; he had intended another headshot but missed. He wanted to keep his skills sharp.
He was not disappointed with himself. He easily completed the double shot, hitting both his marks with only a fraction of a second between the two bullets impact. The guard was dead before he hit the ground.
Nix nodded, looking impressed. "Nice shooting, Wolfy."
A small smile formed at the corner of his mouth from the praise. "Thanks, now let's see if I can manage to not fuck up this entire operation." With that, he fired at the first power box. Nix trusted her partner's abilities, but she couldn't help but flinch as he fired, expecting an explosion.
Nothing happened, other than the turret powering down silently.
Alear let out an audible sigh of relief. "Phew," he said with a whistle. "Kind of surprised that worked." Nix shot him a look that said 'Seriously?' He pretended not to notice. "Alrighty then, three more." Nix covered her eyes with her hands as Alear shot the other boxes.
After a moment of silence, Nix peeked through her fingers. "Huh, looks good."
Alear pulled the clip out of Storm Breaker. He had fired nine shots and his clip held fifteen, leaving him with six more shots in the clip. He decided not to reload and placed the used clip back into the rifle. "You better get down there. We have a deadline to meet."
"Okie dokie," she said cheerfully before her eyes turned white. She vanished in a shimmer of light, leaving the wolf Faunus alone. Alear would never get over how similar Nix was to her sister. They even had the same semblance, which pretty much never happened. Usually a semblance is unique to only one person, but for some reason both Neo and Nix shared one. To be honest, Alear was a little afraid of the two. Their semblance could manipulate minds and alter someone's reality. That kind of power would make any normal person frightened. Now it appeared she could teleport short distances as well. Sure Alear's semblance could be scary but you could at least see his attacks coming. His semblance was the ability to supercharge molecules in the air and releasing the energy stored in the form of lightning.
Alear dismissed these thoughts and focused on the recently reappeared Nix through his scope. He needed to protect his partner.
Nix stealthily moved to the nearest wall of the compound, avoiding the spotlights. She crouched along the wall until she came across a small door at the base of one of the watchtowers. She assumed it was used to dispose of garbage, considering the horrible smell. The entire surrounding area reeked of trash.
Nix held her breath and tried opening the door, finding it locked. Luckily, lock picking was a common skill to learn in the White Fang. Nix pulled a hairpin out of her pocket, something that she had learned to always carry with her for things like this, and bent it until it was straight. She inserted one end into the lock and had it open in less than a minute with a satisfying click from the locking mechanism.
She peeked through, finding the stone room filled with garbage bags. Nix almost gagged from the smell. Another wood door was on the other side of the room, with a staircase opposite of that. She crept inside and lightly shut the door behind her. She thought a moment, hoping the staircase led to one of the watch towers. She had an idea on how to get around, but only if a watch tower was up those stairs. Nix allowed herself to stand up straight and walked up the steps. She was extremely pleased to find out her assumption was correct. She found the dead guard and took off his Grimm mask, placing it on her own face. The top of the mask was cracked and stained with a small amount of blood from where Alear shot the man. She covered the disfiguration with the pink half of her hair.
Her idea was quite simple. If she wore the Grimm mask, the other guards would hopefully assume she was just another grunt. If they asked why she wasn't wearing the uniform then she would just say that she was a new recruit. Her face wasn't widely known to the grunts in the White Fang so she might've been able to walk around without one, but she didn't want to take any chances. She made a mock gesture toward where she knew Alear was watching and quickly returned downstairs, entering the compound.
The layout of the compound was very simplistic. It consisted of a total of fifteen identical, stone buildings with a large central structure in the center of the compound. Five of the buildings looked more like jails, while the other ten were split between Dust storage and guard barracks. The central structure looked like a small house, sticking out in striking contrast. Whoever lived in it was obviously living in comfort, despite what was going on around it. The actual Dust mines were located to the south of the compound. Several caves dotted the landscape.
No one gave Nix a second glance as she strolled through the compound, looking for a building with easy access. They were too busy moving giant mechs, Atlesian Paladins. "How the hell did they get those?" she thought to herself. "Aren't those Atlas's new toys?" She shook her head to change her focus. What she saw made her stomach churn. The guards were quite literally dragging people into the prison-like buildings, savagely beating any that resisted. The windows were barred and the doors were reinforced with steel and a padlock.
She cursed under her breath as she took another look at the tall, stone walls. Barbed wire covered the top, preventing people from climbing. She just hoped that the way she came in was usable as an exit.
Nix continued along her earthen path, finally stumbling on a building that wasn't locked. She quickly ducked inside, anxious about being outside longer than she had to.
It turned out to be one of the prison buildings, but there was something strange about this one. For one, the door was unlocked. Two, there was only one guard inside on watch yet there were several cells lining the walls of the building with what looked like a disinfecting station of some kind in the back. Finally, the only guard in the building was sleeping. His feet were propped up on a wooden table. He was leaning back in his chair, snoring soundly.
Nix quietly opened the case on her back, pulling out a bronze violin bow with a sharpened side opposite of the ribbon. She slowly walked toward the guard, one foot in front of the other. She stopped in front of the man and slowly dragged her bow across his throat.
He woke with a fright, shock becoming fear as he realized what was happening. She held a finger to her lips. "Shhhh." He responded by clutching his throat, desperately trying to keep the blood from pouring out. The chair fell on its side as the guard spasmed from blood loss. He twitched on the floor as the red liquid pooled around him, finally becoming still after a few minutes. His eyes were now glazed.
The illusionist felt no remorse for killing him. He was a slaver and deserved his fate as far as he was concerned. If there was one thing she couldn't stand, it was slavery. That was one of the reasons she joined her sister in the first place. She wiped the blood off her violin bow on his pants and replaced it into her case.
Nix searched the guard for his keys, plucking them from his belt before dragging his corpse to one of the cells, unlocking it and dragging his body inside along with her broken Grimm mask. It landed on his corpse with a soft thud. She would have to wait for Alear to arrive and needed to hide the body in case anyone else entered.
She was about to go clean up the blood off the floor when she saw the door begin to open. She went wide eyed and quickly ducked into the cell with the dead guard, closing the barred door behind her. She held her breath as two more guards entered the building.
"Hey, you manage to get the key to Nomant's safe?" one of them asked.
The other one flashed a winning smile and dangled an ornate key with a small, red Dust crystal embedded in the handle through the air. "Of course I got- Holy shit!" Nix tensed and started reaching for her case. "What's with all the blood?!"
The other guard laughed. "Relax, moron. It was probably just Henry having some fun with one of the prisoners again."
"Yeah…you're probably right." They both pulled up chairs to the small table and sat down, proceeding to play a game of poker.
Nix relaxed, lowering her hand back to her side. That's when she felt someone staring at her. Nix quickly turned to look at the opposite cell, locking eyes with the prisoner inside. The prisoner was a middle-aged woman with long, unkempt, dark brown hair with almost lifeless green eyes. She regarded Nix with a semi-interested expression. The illusionist quickly held her finger to her lips again, hoping the prisoner would be quiet. The woman nodded. Her hair moved slightly, revealing a set of limp animal ears. Nix couldn't determine what kind of ears they were, but it was obvious she was a Faunus. Her face was free of blemishes and the usual wrinkled texture skin takes with age. Her eyes were the only thing that gave a clue about her true age. They hid an immense pain. Her face was devoid of all hope. The woman hugged her knees and stared endlessly into the floor.
"Hey Henry!" yelled one of the guards. "You here?"
"Shit," thought Nix. "If I don't do something fast then they're going to start searching for their friend." She readied herself to use her semblance when she heard the door open once more.
"Sorry boys, just me," said a familiar voice. Nix peeked her head around the wall of her cell to get a better view.
"Who the fuck are you-" The guard was silenced as Alear jammed Shimmer into his skull. The second guard pulled a hand gun off his belt, preparing to shoot Alear. Alear quickly shot lightning from his finger tips, striking the man in the chest and stopping his heart. The wolf Faunus was cleaning blood off of Shimmer when Nix emerged from hiding. He regarded her with a small grin.
"Hello there," he said casually.
"Took you long enough to get here," Nix scowled.
"Yea well I can't teleport. I actually had to walk," he said jokingly.
"Whatever, Alear."
A gasp came from the cells. The partners both turned curiously toward the noise.
"Make a new friend?" Alear asked, amused.
"Not exactly. It's a prisoner," she replied, stepping in front of the cell to look at the woman.
"Well, let's let them out then. Throw me the keys." She complied and now he too stood in front of the cell. His gaze was turned toward the lock, focusing on his task. He opened the cell with a happy grin on his face, closing his eyes and extending his hand to greet the stranger. "Hey there, my names-"
"Alear?" the woman spoke timidly.
The wolf Faunus froze. He KNEW that voice.
Alright well there's chapter 8 finally lol. Sorry for not uploading it sooner. Where I live is currently being blasted by a small blizzard so my internet is kind of messed up. Hope you enjoyed it, but I'd like to leave on a serious note. Monty Oum, creator of RWBY, has recently been hospitalized and is in critical care at the time of upload. It is unknown whether he will recover. I would like to ask everyone to send any positive thoughts you can. Monty is an important part of Rooster Teeth, as well as the Rooster Teeth community, I mean family. His creativity and ingenuity have personally inspired me to express myself in ways such as writing these fan fics, as it has with many others. The Rooster Teeth family wouldn't be the same without him. So please, help in any way you can. There is a fund that has been set up to help his wife, Sheena, cover the medical expenses. If you wish to donate there is a link on the Rooster Teeth site. Let us hope that he'll be okay, and wish him a speedy recovery. Thank you for your support guys.